Carlos Prates delivered a statement win on Saturday night, and Belal Muhammad wasted no time breaking down the key factor that tipped the scales in the Brazilian's favor. Stopping Jack Della Maddalena in Perth, Prates put together a performance that reminded everyone just how dangerous he can be when he's fully locked in. Even lightweight champion Islam Makhachev took notice, acknowledging Prates for getting the better of a man he once shared the cage with.

The fight was largely decided by Prates' significant reach advantage—something Muhammad had predicted well before the two ever touched gloves. Speaking with Helen Yee ahead of the bout, Muhammad laid out his forecast, stating that Prates' length would simply be too much for Della Maddalena to handle this time around.

Della Maddalena had been dethroned as welterweight champion back in November, losing to Islam Makhachev during the Russian's first title defense. While Makhachev's wrestling was clearly the difference-maker in that fight, he also found consistent success with his kicks throughout all five rounds—a detail Muhammad was quick to highlight when discussing both fighters.

"We saw in Jack's last fight, right? Islam was landing some very good kicks. Low kicks," Muhammad said in a video on his YouTube channel. "You've got to attack the legs, attack the arms, attack the head. I think switching up those kicks, mixing it up. Jack, he has good boxing defence, but he doesn't really have really good kick defence."

Muhammad continued, "So, I think for Prates, putting those kicks in and then that'll make Jack second-guess those punches, right? Because he does get hit a lot, even though it's boxing. Sometimes he'll take a punch to get three."

Prates followed that blueprint to perfection, varying his attacks throughout the bout and dropping Della Maddalena multiple times with precisely timed shots. Once the Australian's movement had been badly compromised by the accumulating damage, it didn't take long for Prates to close out the win. Muhammad ended his breakdown by giving the Brazilian a narrow edge—and as Saturday proved, that prediction was spot on.